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3 TEAMMATES HEADED TOWARD COOPERSTOWN

We would like to salute our Teammates: Trevor Hoffman, Jim Thome and Chipper Jones who were voted into the Hall of Fame Class of 2018 by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. This trio of all-time greats will be officially honored during the induction ceremony on July 29 in Cooperstown.

Trevor Hoffman, the National League leader in saves was one of the 67 inaugural baseball Teammates in 1999, the first year of the Foundation. He won an astonishing 601 saves during his 18-year career. Drafted by the Reds as a shortstop from the University of Arizona in 1989, Hoffman made his career-altering move to the mound two years later. Hoffman was a Teammate for 4 seasons.

Jim Thome is one of nine hitters in baseball history to hit at least 600 home runs (612) and he is the Indians’ all-time leader with 337 homers. He hit an MLB-record 13 walk-off home runs, launched nine grand slams, had 17 postseason blasts, homered in 38 stadiums and took 403 pitchers deep during his career. Thome became a Teammate in 2000, the Foundation’s second year, and remained on our roster for 8 years.

Chipper Jones started his 2-year relationship with Teammates in 2001. Jones’ career numbers which include a .303 batting average, a .401 on-base percentage, a .529 slugging percentage, 468 home runs, 1, 623 RBI’s and 1,619 stand alone with Babe Ruth, Stan Musial, Lou Gehrig, Mel Ott and Ted Williams. Those amazing numbers helped Chipper become just the 16th Hall of Famer to gain election while being included on at least 95% of the ballots.

We would also like to recognize Larry Walker for his number 11 finish on the final ballot. Walker was the first official “Teammate” to sign on when the foundation began in 1999, and he has served on the Board of Directors since 2002.